Public Defender Board
| Name | Public Defender Board |
| Contact Person | Remy Voisin Starns - State Public Defender |
| Mailing Address |
301 Main Street, Suite 700 Baton Rouge, LA 70801 Baton Rouge, LA 70825 |
| Phone Number | 225-219-9305 |
| Fax Number | 225-219-9326 |
| Board Email | agwin@statepublicdefender.la.gov |
| Website | www.lpdb.la.gov |
| Legal Authority | La. R. S. 15:146, et al |
| Year Created | 2007 |
| Organizational Placement | Governor's Office |
| Purpose/Function | In response to the Legislature's mandates under both the United States and Louisiana Constitutions to provide qualified and competent counsel to indigents, it created the Louisiana Public Defender Board. The Board is to ensure that adequate public funding of the right to counsel is provided and managed in a cost-effective and fiscally responsible manner. The Board provides for the supervision, administration and delivery of a uniform system for securing and compensating qualified counsel for indigents in all courts in this state. |
| Number of Entity Members: |
Number Authorized: 11
Number Currently Serving: 11 |
| Number of Entity Meetings: |
Actual number in prior year: 5
Estimated number in current year: 5 |
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The Entity is: Active Inactive Not fully organized Disbanded Never fully organized |
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Do members receive per diem, salaries, and/or travel expense reimbursements? Yes No |
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Excluding member per diem, salaries, and travel expense reimbursements, does the entity receive or expend funds? Yes No |
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Entity Member Per Diem: Amount Authorized: $160 per meeting per meeting day per day spent on board business None |
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Total entity member per diem: Prior year actual: $0.00 Current year budgeted: $0.00 |
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Entity Member Salaries: Prior year actual: $0.00 Current year budgeted: $0.00 |
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Entity Member Travel Expense Reimbursement: Prior year actual: $0.00 Current year budgeted: $0.00 |
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Number and Type of Authorized Employee Positions: Classified: 8 Unclassified: 6 Part-time: 1 |
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Entity Fiscal Year End: 4/30 7/31 10/31 Other (identify date) 6/30 9/30 12/31 None |
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Participation in State Employee Benefit Programs: Employees: participate in state retirement system(s) and/or state group insurance program(s) do not participate in state benefit programs Members: participate in state retirement system(s) and/or state group insurance program(s) do not participate in state benefit programs |
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A state agency provides: (Check all that apply and identify the state agency)
Per Diem Payments State Agency: Louisiana Public Defender Board Travel Reimbursements State Agency: Louisiana Public Defender Board Other (explain) State Agency: |
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Is this entity a budget unit or included within a budget unit of the State of Louisiana as defined by LSA-R.S. 39:2? Yes No If yes, identify the budget unit and the budget schedule number below: Budget Unit Name: Budget Schedule Number: |
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| Notes | On 4/5/17, updated FY17 per diem and reimbursements paid to Board members - ag On 6/20/17, updated FY17 P.D. and Reimb. paid to Board members; added new board member (Stearns), replacing T. Davenport (resigned 6/16/17) All sections except Budgets updated on 10/4/18 by AG Budget section updated on 11/28/18. Note that on the Means of Financing section, the IAT amounts are reflected in the operating expenses amounts on the Expenditures section. All sections updated and submitted as final on 12/4/19. ag Please be advised that Act 22 of the 2024 Second Extraordinary Session abolished the Louisiana Public Defender Board (LPDB) and renamed the agency the Office of the State Public Defender. This change effectively transferred most of the LPDB's regulatory powers to that Office. It also created a new Board, The Louisiana Public Defender Oversight Board that is advisory in nature with specific areas of authority. Board was eliminated due to Act 22 of the 2024 Second Extraordinary Session that transferred the authority of the Louisiana Public Defender Board to the Louisiana Public Defender Oversight Board. |